JAPAN GUIDE: Shirakawa-Go

The most representative city of traditional Japan is undoubtedly Kyoto, the Emperor's City. When a town in Japan has that traditional feel, Japaese refer to as "little Kyoto." Takayama in Gifu is famous throughout Japan as a little Kyoto, and the area around it is full of treasures from the past. One of these, Shirakawa-Go, is listed as a World Heritage Site. The village of Shirakawa-Go is located on the edge of the Japan Alps just a few hours drive from Okazaki and an hour from Takayama, and is one of the destinations of the Discovery tour . Famous for its traditional houses, Shirakawa-go feels and looks like something out of centuries past.

The area is also host to a particularly famous festival, the Doburoku matsuri. Doburoku is a kind of primitive sake, effectively old rice which has gone bad. Perhaps the original sake (read here for details of sake), usually it is refined to make something like the refined and delicate drink of connoisseurs the world over. In small towns all over Japan, there are local types of doburoku which are enjoyed (perhaps too strong a word) at festivals. The festival is held at the end of September or the middle of October (depends on the temple - each temple holds a festival for 2 days). The matsuri consists of a lion dance ("shishimai" - the masks used are particularly famous for their artistry and are displayed in the local museum), folk songs (min'you) and free sake. All you can drink. The limit may be decided not by when you fall over, but by how long you can stomach the taste...

There is a homepage made by the Shirakawago tourist office in Japanese only at http://www.shirakawa-go.gr.jp/maturijyouhou.htm for details of the area and events.

Gasshoku house in Shirokawa

The area around Shirakawa-go is packed with history and things to see. Cut off in the mountains from the rest of Japan, many aspects of ancient Japan survived in these valleys. Because of this, buildings from around the area were brought together here. The most famous are the houses. Called "Gasshoku", because they resemble praying hands due to the steepness of the roof, the houses are huge constructions in which up to forty people might have lived - a huge extended family that would share one enormous house. Built entirely of wood and thatched with rice plants which are changed every five years, the buildings have a steeply-pitched roof to prevent snow breaking the structure. The thick layer that does build up also provides added insulation against the cold. The houses are lined up all facing the same way to present the least resistance to the prevailing wind which almost exclusively blows from one direction in the narrow mountain valleys.

Inside the roof

Inside, the houses have several floors - up to five. The entire structure is held together by rope, without any nails being used in the process. This means that the buildings can also be fairly easily dismantled, so it has been possible to bring other surviving houses from around the area and reassemble them in Shirakawa-go. The wood inside the building becomes blackened with age and smoke from the virtually smokeless fires burning on the ground floor. The upper floors were also used for storage of the implements used for farming - it would have been a communal effort by all the inhabitants.

See lots more photos in the Photo Archive.

Lined up against the wind

If you want to go to Shirakawa, you can join the Discovery tour from Apri 5th, or take a train to Nagoya (30 mins, 600 yen), from Nagoya take a tokkyuu (express) to Takayama (not many trains each day, about 2 hours, 4,000 to 5,000 yen) or a local train: change at Gifu, Minou Oota (about 5 hours, 2,000 to 2,500 Yen). There are plenty of hotels around the station, and you can take a tour bus from Takayama station, (8am, 2 hours, 3,360 yen one way). Direct from Nagoya, from April to November, you can also take a bus direct from Nagoya to Shirakawa (4 hours, 4,760 yen one way).